PEOPLE
Sujit Vaidya shares his journey and the lessons learnt along the way
Today’s CFO has a multi-faceted role and is expected to be a performance leader, a steward of control, a catalyst of change, an operator of efficiency and a strategist of growth.
INSIGHT
The national lockdown has been disruptive across industries and every facet of a company’s operation. Demand, revenues, production and margins have buckled over the last quarter.
Think Tank
Adit Jain, Chairman and Editorial Director, IMA India
Covid-19 is unlike any other recent crisis. So far, it has killed many more people than SARS did, and this time, the recovery will not be V-shaped but far more hesitant.
Mark Oliver, Founder of MarkTwo Consulting
In today’s tough times, CXOs must not only captain the ‘organisational ship’ from a long-term strategic point of view, but in the short-term, ensure that the ship stays afloat.
Ramesh Venkat, Founder and Managing Partner, Fairwinds Asset Managers
India’s financial sector, which was already grappling with NPAs to the tune of 12-13% of assets before Covid-19 hit, is likely to see these ratios worsen in the coming months.
Gautam Khanna, CEO, PD Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre
A crumbling economy, lengthy lockdowns, social distancing, a scramble to develop a vaccine, and varying perspectives on how to manage the crisis: there is much in common between today’s situation and the Spanish Flu of 1918, which killed millions.
Sandeep Chilana, Managing Partner, Chilana & Chilana Law Offices
The GST has remained a topic of debate and, in many cases, trauma compounded by frequent changes in tax rates, confusing and sometimes conflicting rules on input credit and the continuing threat of anti-profiteering action by the authorities.
Manish Sabharwal, Chairman and Co-founder of Teamlease Services
The Covid-19 crisis has unleashed mayhem on the world of business. While the initial response focussed on employee safety, supply chain disruptions and business continuity, the longer-term implications will be profound. Many companies have moved to complete, almost overnight, digital transformations that they may have been planning
Rajat Sethi, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Manipur and Senior Research Fellow, India Foundation
In managing a crisis like Covid, governments have no rule books to follow. In both scale and complexity, the challenge is unprecedented and the response must combine boldness and caution in equal parts. Narendra Modi’s government has imposed a strict, nationwide lockdown, which has been twice extended.
Richard Martin, Managing Director, IMA Asia
As Asia emerges from the shadow of Covid-19, there will be disparity in economic performance across the region. Some markets will count out stronger, others weaker. Over time, there will also be an economic and geopolitical ‘rebalancing’, not just within Asia, but between the region and the world at large.
Ananth Narayan, Associate Professor of Finance at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research
Unlike with the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), India entered the Covid-19 crisis on a weak footing. Growth was slowing, the fiscal position was precarious, a number of key sectors were distressed, as was the financial system.
More than almost anything else, Covid’s impact will be felt in terms of liquidity and the consequent financial distress. Amidst all the chaos, the CFO will play a central role in stabilising the business and positioning it to thrive when conditions improve.